Apparatus for molding porcelain and similar ware.



No. 805,299. PATENTBD NOV. 21, 1905. E. G. KASTENHUBER.

APPARATUS FOR MOLDING PORCELAIN AND SIMILAR WARE. APPLICATION FILED JUL31,1903.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

2 ll lnQerfiCoP:

W'tnesses.

/ Edwin G.Kasfienhube rw A r by Wmg E. G. KASTENHUBER.

PATENTED NOV. 21, 1905.

APPARATUS FOR MOLDING PORCELAIN AND SIMILAR WARE.

APPLICATION FILED J ULY 31, 1903.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

@Wif

Edwin G. Kastenhuber,

No. 805,299. PATRNTRD Nov. 21, 1905.

E. G. KASTBNHUBER. APPARATUS FOR MOLDING PORCELAIN AND SIMILAR WARE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 31,1903.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

' FT g.4.

IIHEDQ Wrtnesses lfioenbor".

- Wcc Q Edwin GlKastenhubefi I W 'byW No. 805,299. PATENTED NOV. 21,1905.

. E. G. KASTENHUBER. APPARATUS FOR MOLDING PORCELAIN AND SIMILAR WARE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 31. 1903.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

F ig. 6. I

M% /2/ 47T EdwinQKaste nhuben UNITED STATES PATENT oEEIoE.

EDWIN G. KASTENHUBER, OF SOHENEOTADY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO GENERALELECTRIC COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

APPARATUS FOR MOLDING PORCELAIN AND SIMILAR WARE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 21, 1905.

Application filed July 31, 1903. Serial No. 167,710.

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDWIN G. KASTENHU- BER, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Schenectady, county of Schenectady, State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus forMolding Porcelain and Similar 'are, of which the following is aspecification.

The present invention relates to the manufacture of molded porcelain andanalogous ware, and more particularly to the apparatus for shapingandcompressing the clay or kaolin into its desired forms with the necessarydegree of compactness. The apparatus most 5 commonly employed.heretoforefor this purpose has consisted of a press provided with one or sometimestwo female dies in which the kaolin or clay was placed by hand,corresponding male dies adapted to compress the material in the femaledies and actuated by hand-operated levers or other power devices, meansfor ejecting the formed articles operated either by hand or foot, andhand-operated means for brushing off the particles of 5 clay adhering tothe dies and applying oil to their surfaces preparatory to refilling.The great amount of effort and number of operations required of theoperator to produce each article by means of these prior deviceshasrendered theirmanufacture unavoidably slow and expensive.

The object of my invention is to provide a power-driven device in whicharticles of ceramic materialmay be formed withoutmanual effort orattention on the part of the operator other than that of keeping thedevice supplied with kaolin or clay and the removal of the completedarticles.

The invention will be readily understood r by reference to the followingdescription and the accompanying drawings, forming a part of thisspecification, in which-- Figure 1 is a right side elevation of amolding-machine with certain parts omitted for -5 clearness ofillustration, embodying-one form of my invention. Fig. 2 is a front sideelevation thereof with certain parts shown in section. Fig. 3 is a topplan of the moldingtable and associated parts. Fig. 4is a top plan 0 ofthe lower set of gears. Fig. 5 is an enlarged section oftheoperating-rack for actuating the devices for ejecting the articles fromthe molds, taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 3; and Fig. 6 is a top plan ofthe machine with the frame-plate broken away and showing theactuating-gears of the clay delivering and compressing devices.

In the construction shown in the drawings a revoluble supporting-table Ais provided with four sets of female dies B, which as the table isturned step by step through angles of ninety degrees are successivelybrought into position to be operated upon by the brushing andoil-distributing means O, the clay-delivering means D, the reciprocatingmale dies E atwliicli the clay in the female dies is compressed, and theejecting means F. As each set of female dies Bis brought to the front ofthe machine the attendant transfers the molded product therefrom tosuitable trays, upon which they are dried and finally delivered to thekiln.

The main frame of the machine comprises rectangular top and bottomsupporting-plates 1 and 2, connected at the corners by upright posts 3.A frusto-conical baset is secured to the bottom plate and provided atits upper end With a circular bearing-surface 5, upon which a circularsupporting-disk 6 for the table A rotates. The table A is in the form ofa Greek cross, each arm of which is secured to the supporting-disk 6bymeans of brackets 9, secured at their upper ends to each edge thereofand at their lower ends to the upper surface of the disk 6.

Power is applied to the device by means of a vertical shaft 10,supported at its lower end in a thrust-bearing 11 and providedintermediate its length with a sleeve 12, feathered thereto at 13 forindependent axial movement. The upper end of the reciprocating sleeve 12is enlarged and provided with a crown-ratchet 14, which engages when inelevated position with a corresponding ratchet carried by a collar 15,having a yieldable lost-motion connection with a hollow shaft 16,concentric with the main drive-shaft 10 and journaled at its upper endin a horizontal bracket 17. To the upper end of the hollow shaft arefixed a bevel-gear 18 and a spur-gear 19, the former engaging a largerbevel-gear 20, which actuates the clay-feeding device D, and the latterengaging a spur-gear 21, having a diameter twice as great and connectedto actuate the compressing means E and the brushing and oildistributingmeans C. The central section of the sleeve 12 passes through and isfeathered to a clutching device G, adapted to be actuated by themovement of the sleeve to its lower position to engage some part fixedto the table A and carry the latter,with the sleeve, through an angle ofninety degrees. The means for periodically raising and lowering thesleeve 12 comprises a cam-drum H, geared to the main shaft so as to makeone revolution to three of the shaft and arranged to reciprocate anon-rotatable quill swiveled to the lower end of the sleeve 12. I

The clay-delivering means D comprises a hopper 22, supported at the backof the machine by suitable braces 23 and 24, secured to the main frameand connecting at its lower end with telescopic conductors or tubes 25,which are of a size and arrangement corresponding to the respectivemolds used. These. tubes 25 have their lower ends attached to steadying-plates 25, which normally rest upon the upper surface of a die-boxB, and when the table A is being rotated they slide along over the topsurface of segments of a plate 26, supported in the plane of the tops ofthe boxes B, so that the clay is held from passing out except when amold is presented thereto. W'ithin the tubes 25 are a correspondingnumber of stirrers to insure the passage of the clay from the hopper 22to and through the tubes. Each stirrer comprises a spider 27, secured tothe lower end of a rod 28, which is supported at its upper end in areciprocating head 29. The head 29 is carried by arod 30, connected tothe lower end of a piston 31, having a transverse crank-slot 32 and aguide projection 33 of rectangular cross-section at its upper endloosely engaging a guide-box 34 in a bracket 35, depending from the topplate 1. The actuating-crank 36 is mounted upon one end of a horizontalshaft 37, journaled in a bearing at the lower edge of the bracket and tothe other end of which is keyed a bevel-gear 20, which meshes with thegear 18 on the hollow shaft 16.

The compressing means comprises a vertically-reciprocating head 39,having a dovetailed groove 40 in its lower surface for the reception ofremovable blocks 41, upon which the male dies 42 are mounted.

The head 39 is carried at the bottom end of a plunger 43,havingguide-channels 44 formed in its sides, adapted to engagecorresponding ways of a guide-box 45, carried at the lower end of abracket 46, depending from the top plate 1, and connected to thecorner-posts 3 and the horizontal bracket 17. The plunger 43 is boredout axially and screw-threaded for the reception of an actuating-screw47,

Y connected to a shaft 48, journaled in the with a long transverse head53, having a crank-slot 54 and a strengthening cover-plate 55. Engagingwith the slot 54 is a roller crank-pin 56, secured to the upper side ofthe large spur-wheel 21, meshing-with the spur-gear 19 in the bottomshaft 16.

The means for cleaning and applying oil to the female dies B comprises acylindrical brush 57, supported on the lower end of an oscillating arm58 and adapted to be swung across in contact with the elevated dies asthey are brought into position beneath it. A coiled spring 59 engagesthe arm 58 near its upper end and operates to move the brush into itsinnermost position after it has been moved outwardly by its actuatingmeans, which consists of a star-wheel 60, carried at the lower end of ashaft 61, journaled in the horizontal bracket 17, and keyed at its upperend to the gear 21. The brush 57 consists of a central metallic drum 62,adapted to be filled with oil, and brush material 63, such as bristles,projecting through the walls of the drum.

The molds or female dies are of ordinary construction with movable lowersections 7, but arranged in groups in boxes B, which are removablysecured to the table A over rec tangular apertures formed therein. Themovable sect-ions 7 are carried at the upper ends of rods 8, secured toreciprocating heads 64. After the compressing operation has taken placethese heads 64 are moved into their upper positions to eject the moldedarticles from the female dies by the following means: The short plungers65, upon which the heads are mounted, are provided with racks 66, whichmesh with pinions 67, fixed upon horizontal shafts68, journaled at theirinner ends in the guide-blocks 69 for the plungers and at their outerends in the outermost table-brackets 9. To the outer ends of the shafts68 are fixed star-wheels 70, which engage at their lower edges with arow of pins 71, constituting a stationary rack to give the wheels acomplete rotation as they are carried thereover in the rotation of thetable. The pins 71 are fixed in a bracket 72, secured to the side of thebase 4 to the right of the front position, so that by the time any armof the table, with its compressed product, reaches the operator thecompletely-formed articles have been ejected from the female molds andare ready to be removed from the machine. In order to hold the removablesections in elevated position until after the brushing and oilingoperation, the shafts 68 are provided with pairs of crowncams 73, havingsharp offsets with which pivoted latches 74 cooperate. Afterthe brushingand oiling operation the sections 7 are lowered to place the female diesin condition for refilling by means of a second stationary row of pins75, which engage the star-wheels at their upper edges. The pins 75 aresecured to a bracket, as shown in Fig. 5, con- 7 comprises an outercylindrical shell 99, to the nected through-a block 76 to the side ofthe base 4. The block 76 is provided with an overhanging tongue 77,which engages a shoulder 78, formed in the peripheryof thesupporting-disk 6, and acts to hold the latter from accidentally beingraised out of contact with the base.

The means for periodically rotating the table A through an angle ofninety degrees con-- sists of a clutch'79, concentric with thereciprocating sleeve 12, to which it is feathered at 80, and comprisingopposed friction-surfaces 81 82, adapted to be actuated by levers 83 toclamp a friction-ring 84, secured to the upper surface of the table A.The levers 83 are provided at their inner ends with pivoted fingers 85,adapted to ride up an inclined surface 86 when their upper ends areforced outwardly by a conical-ended collar 87, adjustably secured to thesleeve 12, when the latter is lowered. According to this arrangement thetable can be rotated only after the reciprocating sleeve 12, which isrotated continuously, has moved out of operative engagement with thebrushing and oiling means, the clay-delivering means, and thecompressing means. i

In order to arrest the motion of the table A in exact position for thefemale dies to aline with the male dies and other operative means, aring 88 is secured to the under side of the table and provided with fourequally-spaced shoulders 89, into which enter bolts 90, which arereciprocated in fixed vertical planes. The bolts 90 are secured to arms91, extending radially from a split head 92, clamped to the upper end ofa polygonal quill 93 and provided with an inwardly-projecting lip 94,which engages a groove 95, turned in the lower end of the sleeve 12,whereby the latter is swiveled relatively thereto. The polygonal quill93 passes through a correspondingly-shaped bearing in a horizontal beam96, secured to the upper end of the base 4, whereby it is free to movefreely up and down, but securely held from rotary movement. Near itslower end the quill 93 is provided with a projecting friction-roll 97,which engages a cam-slot 98 in the drum H. The drum H inner surface ofwhich are secured two oppositely-disposed cam-rings 100 and 101. Theserings are so shaped that the roll 97, which is located between them,together with the parts supported thereby, are held in elevated positionduring two-thirds of a revolution of the drum H and moves them intolowered position and returns them to elevated position during the otherthird of the revolution. The lower end of the shell 99 is secured to aplate 102, journaled upon the main shaft and provided on its lower sidewith a peripheral gear-ring 103 and a thrust-plate 104:, which engagesan end of the hub of a pinion 105, keyed to the shaft and bearing upon ahousl ing 106. An idler-gear 107 is mounted upon the upper side of thehousing 106 and meshes with the pinion 105 and gear ring 103 to transmitmotion from the former to the latter. The diameter of gear 103 is threetimes that of the pinion 105, so that the main shaft 10 makes threerevolutions to actuate the camdrum H through a complete rotation. Itwill accordingly be seen that thesleeve 12 is held in operative relationwith the brushing and oiling means. the clay-distributing means, and

the compressing means during two revolutions and is then lowered outofoperative relation therewith and as it approaches its lowest positionactuates the clutch and causes the table A to rotate a quarter of arevolution and is then raised to release the clutch and return to itsoperative relation with the first-named means. The period of engagementwith the clutch-fingers 85 may be regulated by adjustment of the collar87, and the ratchet-teeth on parts let and are permitted to engagethroughout their full length before motion is transmitted to the hollowshaft 16 by means of the lost-motion device provided between the collar15 and its shaft 16, consisting of a slot 15, formed in the collar,through which extends a stop-pin 15", fixed to the end of the hollowshaft 16, and a retractile spring 15', operating to normally hold thecollar 15 turned to the right, with the pin 15 engaging the opposite endof the slot 15 to that which it engages when the hollow shaft 16 isbeing rotated by the sleeve 12.

I do not desire to restrict myself to the particular form orconstruction of parts herein shown and described, for it is apparentthat they may be changed and modified without departing from myinvention.

. What 1 claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States, is-

1. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a movablesupport upon which are mounted a series of molds, a stationary supportupon which are mounted devices for delivering the material operated uponto said molds and for compressing said material therein,andacontinuously-actuated driveshaft arranged concentrically of saidsupports and adapted to be operatively connected alternately to themovable support and to the said devices mounted on the stationarysupport.

2. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a movablesupport upon which are mounted a series of molds and correspondingejecting means adapted to be actuated by the movement of said support, astationary support upon which are mounted devices for delivering thematerial operated upon to said molds and for compressing said materialtherein, and a continuously-actuated drive-shaft arranged concentricallyof said supports and adapted to be operatively connected alternatelywith said movable support i and to the said devices mounted upon thestationary support.

3. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of areciprocating male die, an actuating screw operatively connectedtherewith and provided with a pinion, a suitably-supported rack-barengaging said pinion and provided with atransversely-slotted head, and agear-wheel adapted to be operatively connected to the power-transmittingmeans and provided with a crank-pin entering said slotted head.

1. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of arevoluble table provided with a series of molds, devices for deliveringand compressing the material operated upon having a commonactuating-shaft 16, a vertical drive-shaft 10, a reciprocating sleeve 12feathered upon said drive-shaft and adapted to operatively engage saidshaft 16 when in raised position and to operatively engage and rotatesaid table when in depressed position, and means for reciprocating saidsleeve.

5. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of the shaft16 connected at one end by a lost-motion arrangement with aratchet-collar, a reciprocating drive-sleeve 12 provided at one end withratchet-teeth, a clutch feathered to said sleeve, a collar 87 adjustablysecured to said sleeve and adapted to engage the operative member ofsaid clutch, and means to periodically reciprocate said sleeve.

6. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a rotarytable provided with a friction-ring, a reciprocating drivesleeve havinga clutch feathered thereto and adapted to engage said ring, means earnedby said sleeve for actuating said clutch when reciprocated, and meansfor reciprocating said sleeve.

7. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a rotarytable, a reciprocating drive-sleeve located concentrically and adaptedto frictionally engage therewith,

means for arresting the rotation of said table, and means forperiodically reciprocating said sleeve.

8. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a rotarytable provided with a series of notches, a non-rotatable reciprocatingmember 93 having a head provided with bolts adapted to engage saidnotches, adrive-sleeve 12 swiveled to said head and provided with meansfor rotating said table, and means for reciprocating said member 93.

9. In an apparatus o1 the class described, the combination of a movablesupport, a series of molds mounted thereon and provided with movablesections mounted on toothed plungers, and gears engaging said toothedplungers and fixed upon shafts mounted upon said movable support andadapted to engage.

some stationary part and actuate said movable sections.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 29th day of July,1903.

EDWIN G. KASTENHUBER. Vitnesses:

BENJAMIN B. HULL, MARGARET E. WOOLLEY.

